Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hello all-

I just purchased a new trans-pecos rat, and was wondering if you guys had any hints or recommendations for set-ups, care info, or anything of the sort. Any favorites for bedding? Thanks a lot-I appreciate it.

~Brian

Hi there:

Did you get it at the WNY show?

DAVE

Nope, the Dixie herp show in Birmingham, AL (it's terrible).

Congratulations! Subocs are my favorites, and it seems like they're getting harder to find.
As for care, do the same as you would for any colubrid snake, with a cool side and a warm side. 70-75 degrees on the cool side, and 80-85 degrees on the warm side has worked well for me. They also require a secure hiding place and water at all times. Also, they seem to do better with smaller meals, such a one adult mouse per week for adults.
The most crucial and often neglected issue with subocs is the humidity level. Subocs have to be kept dry. Make sure that your enclosure is very well ventilated, and use a dry bedding like aspen or paper towels. If you allow the humidity to get too high, the snake will regurgitate it's meals and eventually waste away. If you live in Alabama, you will need to pay particularly close attention to this since ambient humidity is generally high.
Hope this helps!
Cheers!

What humidity level do you recommend? My setup is essentially the same as you described though, so I think she's going to fare well...

Honestly, I recommend none. The water bowl provides any moisture they may need.
Cheers!

Agreed! Humidity is key! I have 2 juveniles that I'm keeping in 10 gal. tanks (until they outgrow them, obviously). Heating is done via an Under Tank Heater and Basking Light both focused on the same side of the tank. I call it a basking light, but it is actually just an ordinary 40W household bulb (keeps up the ambient air temp). Temperatures average the upper 80s (86-88) on the warm and 78-80 on the cool side (they like it warm!).

The tanks are fairly bare. There is a water dish and hide rock on the cool side, and just a couple of small twigs on the warm side for them to climb on. I read somewhere that subocs are "slightly arboreal" due to their desert habitat, so they should be given some opportunity for climbing. But I wouldn't suggest anything too tall, especially if they are young. Mine extend about 1/4 of the way up the glass. The main reason I included the sticks was to prevent the snakes from getting burned. The UTHs are on a lamp dimmer, but sometimes things still get a little hot. Plus, my snakes have a tendency to "kick up" the substrate, creating bare spots on the bottom of the tank (YES, the UTHs are mounted OUTSIDE the tank). This way, if it gets too hot on their bellies, they can climb up the twigs and still be able to get warm without burning.

As for substrate, I go with coconut shavings (the brick kind). I just made sure to dry it out extra well by putting it in the oven. The temps in the tanks keep the substrate nice and dry... no problems with humidity!

If you want to "pretty" the tanks, you could add some small cacti, mesquite branches, cool looking rocks... the usual. Congrats on the purchase; they are beautiful and well-tempered snakes!! You'll want more shortly!

Thanks a lot for the recommendations. I have boatloads of pythons and boas, so this "no humidity" rule is kind of interesting to me. Thanks a lot for everyone's help-I do plan on getting a mate at some point, but I thought I should just try out one for now. Have a good one!

Have to agree with the previous post that, for the most part, they like it warm! We got a "problem child" from a friend, and when we added more heat, the snake came out of its doldrums and ate fine. Now that is to say they're all different, but for the most part, they do like an area in the high 80s. We keep ours on pea gravel as they do like to mess aspen or other bedding. Of course, while not pretty, newspaper always works.

No offense, but I wouldn't use pea gravel for any snake. First, it's hard to clean. Second, it seems to mask feces and other foriegn matter bcause of the color variations amongst the stones. Finally, it does not absorb moisture at all, and thus becomes breeding ground for mold and bacteria. I would definitely stick with newspaper, paper towels, or aspen when it comes to keeping subocs.
Cheers!

I'm just suggesting pea gravel because it has worked well for us, and we have kept sub ocs for years, and I do mean years. We like pea gravel because it's cheap, and we just throw it out and get new gravel when neceessary. What works for one person may not work for another. Just giving our insights.

Started breeding the Pecos in the mid- 70's and kept them on aquarium gravel with a rock formation for hide area.
Used a spot lamp directed on the rocks and temps in winter got as low as the high 40's. Didn't affect them breeding wise. Now mine are kept in a 3' wood cage on aspen bedding with artificial rock caves for hide areas. Water is kept in all the time.
If you keep other animals (snakes) make sure the Pecos are the first ones you deal with (feeding, housekeeping, etc.) and never offer a prey animal that was refused by another snake. My original pair was wild caught babies. If you buy another pecos (assumed cb), isolate for a few weeks to make sure of health.

Enjoy them, they're great animals and very intelligent.

Mike

Low humidity, extreme ventilation, a good warm end of the enclosure, and 2 or 3 baby mice(pinks,fuzzies,or sm. hoppers) as opposed to furred adult mice are all key ingredients for subocularis to thrive. Although some larger snakes will take adult mice, most of mine will take smaller ones.

They love resting on branches or platforms. Some individuals are more prone to respiratory problems from high humidity than others. I found Carefresh bedding better than aspen wood bedding for decreasing the humidity in the tank. One young male eventually grew more humidity-tolerant, so I switched him back to aspen.
Congrats! These snakes are sooo inquisitive and fun and they even have a personality.
Good Luck!
Dusty Rhoads

No water left in cages! I water once a week at most. I know breeders that never provide water. I pour water in bowl fri night and dump out sat morning the only exception is a snake just before the shed where eyes had been blue and cleared up 1 day before shed I leave water untill snake has shed. I use only silica sand #16. It keeps the cage dry and feces clean well. I have been using silica for 12 years with my Rosey boas and have never had an impaction, it has worked equaly well with Sub-Oc. Sighthunter.

in my experience many snakes from the southwest don't take well to heavy feeding since in nature they don't get food as often as snakes in more lush areas... the baja cape gopher was like that..you'd think all gopher snakes would be voracious eaters like bull or pines are..but powerfeed a baja caper and you're heading for regurgitation syndrome..

also I'd not keep them too warm..most of these desert animals aren't moving round in hot sun..they're out in evening or early morning and head for underground once the sun is up..

Your question is open ended. There are multiple factors, time of year(getting ready to hibernate), Matabilsm nervous energy, temprature etc... Light cycle if indoors and many other factors that contribute to the amount of food. In adition, my male breeders are kept thin, my females when ready to breed are kept fat but not obese.